1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to mirrors. More particularly, the present invention relates to oval elliptical mirrors.
2. Description of Prior Art
The use of wide field of view mirrors to observe areas not easily viewed from a stationary post or position is long established in the art. The traditional shape of such mirrors has been circular with the surface or lens of the mirror being convex. Another popular shape, although less traditional, has been a rectangular wide field of view mirror having a convex lens or reflective mirror surface.
As is known, the basic convex surface was created to provide viewing of a wide area and to reduce it to an image easily viewed by the person occupying the stationary post or position. However, the traditional convex mirror surface area coverage, whether it is a circular or a rectangular mirror, is limited by the edge or size or outer perimeter of the mirror. To increase the area of viewing coverage one must necessarily increase the size of the mirror. Clearly, the mirror size eventually reaches a point where it is not feasible to use.
Hence, attempts have been made in the art to provide a bigger and wider viewing area by flattening the center of the mirror and rounding the edges. However, this results in a distorted viewing image which renders such a mirror difficult to use.
Thus, a mirror which would be smaller and easier to handle and position while still providing an increased field of view would be highly desirable. It is to this to which the present invention is directed.